Settle Down
by 9r7g5h
Summary: It was a quiet life they lived, now that they had settled down.


**AN** : I saw a gifset on tumblr, where at a con someone asked what the finale would have been if Lucy and Renee had created it. Lucy said "Taco stand. You and me. Couple of kids. A dog. It would be Xena and Gabrielle settle down. Go back to Poteidaia. I actually don't get on with her mother well, but..."

Renee: "I'd be frying my chimichangas."

Lucy: "I think we'd settle down, have a quiet life."

And that conversation inspired this fic. I hope you all enjoy!

 **Disclaimer** : I do not own Xena.

* * *

Xena had thought saving the world would be the hardest thing she ever did. Fighting against the gods to end their reign of terror, toppling old Rome so a newer, better one could rise in its place, bringing peace to all of those souls on Japa without it costing her or Gabrielle life- she had thought all of those things hard. Every time she had ever been at the brink of death (and the couple of times she had fallen over and had to climb her way back out), she had thought herself beaten. Had thought that she would never again face something quite so difficult.

But running a restaurant in Poteidaia? That was a hell Xena had never imagined.

"Xena," Gabrielle called from the kitchen, spooning some sauce onto the fried, stuffed tortilla, "take this to table four!"

Business was actually pretty good. When they had returned to the city, it had been…iffy, to say the least. Many people hadn't wanted them there- they brought too much danger with them, their past would catch up soon enough, why bother trying to get settled when in a few months the wanderlust would hit and they'd be gone again? All valid concerns (quite a few she had settled with a glare and her hand on her chakram), but ones that had proven unfounded.

When trouble came, they had quickly cut it down, each and every time, before it could even begin causing a mess around town. And while the wanderlust had struck, it hadn't been quite as bad as before. They had seen the world, and were tired. They might travel again one day, but for now?

For now they were good. Especially since the children were all still young.

"Moms, we're home!"

Xena smiled as she set a plate down at the table Gabrielle had designated, nodding at the customer- a thirty something with a wicked scar who just nodded back and dug into his food- before turning towards the feet running towards her. Kneeling, she scooped the little boy into her arms, placing a kiss onto his cheek before shifting him onto her hip so she could grab his brother and do the same. Their sister was on her back in a moment, arms around her neck and legs around her waist, leaving wet, sticky kisses of her own wherever she could reach.

They had found them on their way to Poteidaia, in the ruins of their town. The villagers had fought bravely, had turned back the warlord trying to take their homes, only to find themselves burning when he decided that if he couldn't have the town, no one would. Few had survived- two men, one carrying his year old daughter, and a heavily pregnant woman, the four of them just barely managing to escape the smoke and live.

She and Gabrielle had quickly ended the warlord when they arrived, too late to save anyone but just in time to avenge them. Men had called them demons, nightmares made real, but it was all the same, in the end- they had walked away stained red with blood not their own, and none of the warlord's troop had continued to breathe.

The woman went into labor shortly after- too much stress, too much damage from the fire and the smoke, all of it sending her body into a panic two weeks early. Birthing two sons before Hades claimed her, despite Xena's attempts to save her life. But the boys were strong, strong and healthy, and the young woman had begged Xena and Gabrielle to keep them as their own- her entire life had been in that village, her entire family, and there was no one else.

And the two men disappeared a day later, leaving the little girl behind for them to take in as well.

A tragic series of events, but one Xena couldn't help but be grateful for as she lugged her burden back into the kitchen, playfully roaring to Gabrielle that they were under attack.

"I see the Warrior Princess has finally met her match," Gabrielle teased as Xena sunk to her knees, allowing the children to clamber off. They were quickly at Gabrielle's sides, just out of reach of the hot oil she was still cooking with, waiting semi-patiently for her to flip the food she was frying before turning to kiss them all hello. "Did you have fun with your Grandmother?"

It had been nothing short of a miracle, but Hecuba had lived. All those years ago, when she and Herodotus had gone to Gurkhan to buy back Sarah, she hadn't been killed. Enslaved, yes, sold off to the highest bidder, but she had survived. Survived and made her way back home, slowly, painfully slowly, but she had eventually returned.

She almost died of a heart attack when she saw Gabrielle, alive and well and still so young, and Xena was almost sure she did have one when she found out she and Xena were married and had children together, but over the last few years she'd made great progress. The two of them still didn't get along that well, but she looked after the kids during the lunch rush, and the family dinners had stopped becoming loud and angry a while ago, so progress as far as Xena was concerned.

"We did," their little girl said, reaching up to grab a cookie and licking it before either of her mothers could scold her. "She got mad that Mr. Floofles kept barking," she added, "but otherwise she read from some of your scrolls, Momma." Looking between her mothers, her eyes wide and curious, she asked Xena "Is it true you died and came back to life for Momma?"

"Which time," Gabrielle asked with a snort, handing a finished plate off to the boy their hired to help serve the food with a quick 'Table six.' "She's died enough time to make me go gray."

A lie, since only the first hints of age were just showing, a few strands that blended neatly with her blonde, but still Xena ducked her head in mock apology.

"The time with Uncle Autozone," she eventually answered after a few moments of thinking and snacking on her cookie. "And you had to eat the ambronisia."

"That happened," Xena said, watching as Gabrielle moved the pan of hot oil from the stove and move to the counter, taking the few steps she needed to to be besides her- their current guests were all fed, but there was still a bit of lunch left, and it was better to be prepared than have to scramble to get everything ready when a large party came in. And anything they didn't use now could be thrown in with dinner.

"Why," one of their sons asked- not accusingly, but honestly curious.

"Because," Xena said, glancing over her shoulder at them as she mixed together the spices, Gabrielle flattening out some dough. "There's not a force in Heaven or Tartarus that would keep me away from your mother."

That earned her a smile and a kiss- not a long one, sadly, not in the kitchen with hot ovens, customers, and children around, so just a few seconds worth- but still it was enough to send the children into a frenzy, their daughter and one of their sons mock gagging in disgust. Though the other just gave a pleased sigh as he stared up at them, a romantic gleam in his eyes as he took in the love his mothers had for each other.

"Oh," their daughter continued a few moments later, when everyone had collected themselves, "also, we got a letter from Aunt Eve. She'll be here tomorrow morning."

"It'll be good to see your _sister_ ," Xena said, stressing the relationship. But with the age difference, the children seemed uneasy recognizing her as such, and so the title of 'aunt' had stayed (and considering she was technically older than Gabrielle, despite Gabrielle also being her mother, Xena begrudgingly accepted that it made sense).

"How about you guys go sit in the main room," Gabrielle offered, glancing over at them, "and after the customers are gone, we'll close up early and head home. We can get started decorating for the celebration."

Three little voices agreed, and six little feet quickly disappeared back into the main room of the restaurant, excitedly discussing what they were going to wear for the festival tomorrow. The Amazons were coming to pay tribute to their missing Queen (Gabrielle had offered to go to them, but when the tribe had heard about her supposedly magical cooking skills, and how she only had the ability to cook her strange dish at her own home, they had quickly said they were coming to her) and to give their newest Princess her rights among the tribe. It would be a big to-do, and the entire town was treating it as such, despite the fact that half of them wouldn't be allowed outside after dusk if they wanted to keep their heads (and their balls). Though the boys were young enough to be allowed, and everyone was excited.

The moment the door swung shut behind them Xena turned and captured Gabrielle in a longer, deeper kiss, just enough to partly satisfy the constant craving Xena had for her and enough to build up heat, promising something more later that night, when the children were fast asleep and Mr Floofles had been put outside for his nightly patrol. Pulling away, smirking slightly at the semi-dazed look on Gabrielle's face, Xena turned back to preparing the last batch of food they would need for today, their shoulders brushing every so often as they worked, side by side.


End file.
